PICK SIX: 4th DCA

The Judicial Nominating Commission for the Fourth District Court of Appeal is pleased to announce the following nominees have been submitted to Governor Rick Scott (in alphabetical order) for his consideration for appointment to the Fourth District Court of Appeal resulting from the retirement of Judge W. Matthew Stevenson:

Longtime board certified appellate attorney here. I’ve worked with and appeared before Meenu durimg a couple of trips down into the trial level trenches where you uncivil and intellectually incurious wretches labor. She’s not only more than qualified, she’s also the best of the six.

Like real qualifications matter. Singhal and Charlie both former appointment wheel junkies loved the slop before Article 5 spelled the end to Broward’s judge case appointment racket where you get appointed to cases for campaign contributions. That took a dump and then it was off to get another handout as judge. Now it’s time to move on up the slop ladder before its time to face a contested race. Who’s fooling who.

I’ve known and worked for Kaplan & Singhal when they were attorneys and was Charlie’s J.A. up until the morning I found him in his bed, dead from a massive cardiac arrest. Yeah…they were on that wheel. That wheel where they got $700 for representing someone charged with a felony. Do you have any idea how hard they worked for these people? How many hours they put in on these cases? They got the same defense as a client who paid $10,000. Which, by the way, was not that often. So, don’t bring up that ancient B.S. because it is completely erroneous. Raag and Charlie didn’t have a big, luxurious office. They didn’t drive big fancy cars. And I KNOW how much they paid themselves each week and you would be ASTOUNDED as to how little those pay checks were.

Additionally, Charlie was like a big brother to me and we were exceptionally close. I knew all of Charlie’s secrets and I can tell you with authority that he was one of the most upstanding people I have ever known. He played by the book and he had a strong set of ethics and morals (as does Raag). You do not know how LIVID your post makes me. Talking about a dead man who cannot defend himself? I’m sorry, but that’s just wrong…and you act like you are jealous or something because they got MAYBE two appointments a month to the tune of $700 each. Most of these clients that Raag and Charlie were appointed to represent treated them as if they were just lowly defense attorneys just out of law school. They had NO IDEA how lucky they were to have an attorney so dedicated and knowledgable about criminal law. I often told these clients when they insinuated that Charlie and Raag were nothing but a couple of shysters to go look them up on the net and THEN call be back. Most times they did call me back – with an entirely different attitude.

As far as Raag goes? Well, if he’s not appointed to this seat, then the 4th DCA is missing out on one of the best jurists they could possibly hope for.

The retirement of the first black judge on the Fourth District Court of Appeal has drawn a diverse set of applicants for a spot on the mostly white, male court.
Fourth DCA Judge W. Matthew Stevenson left the bench as South Florida voluntary bar associations pursue increased judicial diversity by meeting with the governor, mentoring judicial hopefuls and studying state bench interviews.
“I think it’s important that our bench reflect the demographics of our community and give different perspectives, especially on an appellate bench,” said Lawonda Warren, the president of the F. Malcolm Cunningham Sr. Bar Association, a Palm Beach County group of black lawyers and judges. “The appellate judges deal with very serious issues that affect our legal community for years.”
Without Stevenson, the 11-member Fourth DCA bench includes only one black jurist, Judge Carole Taylor, who is also one of just three women judges on the court.
A total of 23 judges and attorneys have applied to fill Stevenson’s seat, including two Asian-American judges, Palm Beach Circuit Judge Meenu Sasser and Broward Circuit Judge Anuraag Singhal. Sasser is Florida’s first Indian-American judge, and Singhal was the first Asian-American judge in Broward County and the third in the state. Women judges applying for the spot include Broward Circuit Judge Mily Rodriguez Powell, who is Cuban-American; Palm Beach Circuit Judge Janis Brustares Keyser; and Martin County Court Judge Kathleen Roberts. The other judges who threw their hats in the ring are Broward Circuit Judge David Haimes, St. Lucie Circuit Judge William Roby and Palm Beach County Court Judge Reginald Corlew, who is black.
“I know that there’s a well-qualified group of people vying for that position,” Stevenson said. The 62-year-old believes courts come to better decisions when judges come from a wide variety of backgrounds. “Diversity is important for the legitimacy and credibility of the judicial system,” he told the Daily Business Review. “Judges bring their whole life experience with them when they sit on the bench.”
But black bar associations have recently questioned whether well-qualified minorities have the same opportunity as everyone else to be appointed to the bench in Florida.
The Judicial Diversity Initiative, a coalition of South Florida minority bar associations, was formed a year ago with the goal of encouraging minorities to apply for judgeships and preparing them for the Judicial Nominating Commission process. Gov. Rick Scott said in April that judicial diversity is important to him, but his top priority is choosing qualified applicants. Judicial Diversity Initiative representatives have met with Scott and members of his staff to express concerns.
Some applicants wonder if they’re really being considered on their resumes alone, said Fort Lauderdale solo practitioner George Odom, who leads the TJ Reddick Bar Association, a group for black lawyers in Broward County that is part of the Judicial Diversity Initiative.
“A lot of African-Americans have been discouraged because they feel like this governor just doesn’t have an interest in appointing African-Americans,” Odom said. “Even if they make it out of the committee, they don’t feel like they’re going to get appointed, quite frankly.”
Stevenson, who retired May 31, was appointed to the Fourth DCA in 1994 by then-Gov. Lawton Chiles after serving five years as a Palm Beach Circuit judge. He has been active in the Cunningham Bar for decades and will continue to encourage well-qualified minorities to apply for judgeships as a judicial adviser to the association. Stevenson is on the senior judge list and will take some assignments in retirement, most likely in juvenile court, he said.
Many of Stevenson’s law clerks also became prominent members of the community, including Riviera Beach City Attorney Pamala Ryan, who is among those who have applied to replace Stevenson on the bench.
The full list of applicants for the Fourth DCA seat can be viewed on the Florida Bar website. They will be interviewed Sept. 7 at the Fourth District Court of Appeal Courthouse at 1525 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd. in West Palm Beach.

Ragg would and probably will be easily beat. This is Broweird and the names work for or against appointees. He’ll be looking for another job on the public dole like he is already with the 4th before his term is up. Or he better be ! Lol

Condo votes don’t mean what they used to. Raag will be defeated no matter how much time he takes off to campaign. My guess he gets two contenders and Usan gets same. The party has already begun. They’ve got their ears to the ground but the thunder will be a surprise before the real reality sets in.
Too bad really. Raag isn’t such a bad guy, but Usan’s got some wind coming his way.

If Raag and Pepe Haimes don’t get the 4th position, I would strongly suggest they both hit the Century Village-Kings Points-Wynmoor Circuit. I feel an opponent or two coming for both. It’s the Destry/Zacor legacy.

What has Judge Haimes done for the Hispanic community?
Haimes did march in the city of Ft Lauderdale St Patrick’s Day parade with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Club.
If I were him I would not use the Hispanic card for an appellate court appointment.

Aww, poor Brian. Stop making fun of him everyone. Especially considering how tough it will be for people to take him seriously.
His gun rage thing became a thing and also he had to reveal his negative net worth and his PD-LEVEL income. .give the guy a break

The nomination of Sasser and Singhal marks a notable achievement in Florida — two Asian-Americans in the running for an appellate court seat. Sasser and Singhal are of Indian-American descent, and Singhal became the third Asian-American judge in the state when he was named in 2011.

In the tobacco appeal, Philip Morris was a defendant along with Reynolds Tobacco Co., Lorillard Tobacco Co., Liggett Group LLC and Vector Group Ltd. Inc. in a lawsuit by Cohen’s estate and her husband, David, alleging negligence, strict liability, fraud by concealment, conspiracy to commit fraud by concealment and other counts. The jury returned a $2.1 million award.

Sasser accepted Philip Morris’ argument that the plaintiffs failed to prove Cohen smoked its cigarettes for a significant period beyond the early 1950s or that its product had caused her illness and death.

The Fourth DCA upheld most of Sasser’s rulings except for the decision to clear Philip Morris. Fourth DCA Chief Judge Cory Ciklin wrote the unanimous decision, with District Judges Jonathan Gerber and Burton Conner concurring.

The appellate court found Philip Morris was not entitled to a directed verdict “on the element of causation, simply because the plaintiff’s experts were unable to say that Helen would not have developed her fatal diseases if she had not smoked” its cigarettes.

Sasser is one of the most highly regarded jurists in the Palm Beach circuit, according to a Palm Beach County Bar Association survey that gave her high scores for excellence in every category in the 2015 judicial evaluation.

A murder suspect who escaped from a Fort Lauderdale courtroom is so slippery that for nearly two years, police said they had no idea how he sneaked in and out of the Davie gated community where he allegedly robbed and killed a member of the Halliburton family.

But in a new lawsuit, the victim’s widower claims the killer walked right in through an unsecured entrance at the northeast corner of the Westridge community — and he wants those in charge of the property’s security to pay.

“Clearly, the amount of this loss is almost immeasurable,” said Fort Lauderdale attorney Brad Edwards, who represents the family of victim Jill Halliburton Su. “It’s impossible for me to put a number on it that’s too large.”

Su was fatally stabbed in the master bathtub of her family’s Westridge home on Sept. 8, 2014. Davie police say DNA on a knife found at the scene matched Dayonte Resiles, who has a decade-long rap sheet going back to a larceny arrest at age 12.

Police linked Resiles to 2014 break-ins in Plantation, Miramar, Oakland Park and Boca Raton. In the Boca Raton case, he had rented a Mercedes-Benz to try to escape suspicion in a ritzy neighborhood.

“He clearly tries to target high-end homes and target communities where he can access these homes without being detected,” said Edwards, a partner at Farmer, Jaffe, Weissing, Edwards, Fistos, & Lehrman. “At the time, this was one of the communities that was just kind of a perfect match for him.”

Resiles, 21, showed his ability to dodge police this summer when he slipped out of his shackles and a Broward Circuit Court courtroom July 15. He was on the loose for six days before he was caught in a West Palm Beach motel room and taken back into custody. Eight people have been arrested for acting as accomplices.

Just after Resiles’ recapture, Davie police told the Sun Sentinel they still did not know how the alleged murderer moved in and out of Su’s gated community undetected.

But Edwards said there is enough information to bring a negligent security lawsuit against Westridge property manager FirstService Residential Florida Inc. and security company G4S Secure Solutions USA Inc.

“It’s one of those cases where a thorough investigation was essential to the claims that we were going to bring,” Edwards said. “We did that, and the state attorney’s office has had the chance to also investigate, and that’s really the only reason” it took two years to prepare the lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed Aug. 31 in Broward Circuit Court, said Westridge’s main entrance was protected by a 24-hour guard and cameras filmed all cars coming in and out.

But because fencing around the property’s perimeter wasn’t properly maintained, Su’s murderer found a spot where “anyone could simply walk into the community without having to show identification, being worried about surveillance cameras or risking detection,” according to the complaint filed by Edwards and colleague Brittany Henderson.

Edwards said security at the community off Nob Hill Road since Su’s murder appears to have improved. He didn’t know of any other home invasions in the development in the past several years, although he said some cars had been burglarized.

The murder “rocked the WestRidge community to its core,” said Gary Pyott, FirstService Residential’s president of South Florida HOA/Gardenstyle.

Sounds like the security at her home is just as good as it is in the Broward Courthouse, which is to say worthless. They inabled this murderer to run right out of the courthouse and escape. The security in the Broward Courthouse is absolutely a farce.

Lest we forget, Harry was competent and successful publicly as a lawyer… but he was dishonest & slimy in his personal life. He abandoned his long term wife and disabled son to pursue his secretary. Toni Gulkin was one of the sweetest people ever to live and she was totally betrayed by Harry. Behind outward stardom there frequently lurks a sickening darkness.

Ha ha, keep pretending Greenbald being last out of FOUR challengers is significant.

Greenbald wants really bad to form some narrative out of this so he can pretend he’s relevant. Truth is all he did is pay the same filing fee that several others did, then came in last because he is so disliked.

It’s obvious that the envy he displayed early in his career towards those who were doing bad assert bit him & he wants to artificially create some fake persona of “hey, look I’m tough too – my family paid a filing fee for me!”

Greenvald bottom of the barrel! I’m not surprised. Now it’s back to the grind for him and Miller who did equally as dismal. Both PDs looking to keep on sucking at the public trough until their boat comes in with what they thought was just a matter of name recognition with the condo vote. Only that boat is decommissioned and sits in dry dock! Lol
Two losers lookin for a handout.

Destry is in his office with no clue that the reason he got booted out of office is because he was an arrogant ignorant pick. He still thinking of all the conspiracy theories. Sad him and his JA want to blame everyone except themselves. Hense

Who cares what Destry thinks. He was lucky to get the job and he bombed. Weinstein left him there to swing after it was apparent to anyone with eyes Destry was out of control. For crying out loud, the Fourth made it doubly clear darn near every Wednesday. He shouldn’t have been a Judge in the first place but that self serving worm Crist rewarded him for supporting his candidacies. Destry got robe fever 105 degree. Instead of firmly calling balls and strikes when asked, he had to ride roughshod over the whole process like it was all about him. He can pout all he wants but the truth is he did it to himself 100%.

Another Broward judge who thought it was a free ride to early retirement but lost it from the beginning. Never was a good judge. Never thought he was going to get slapped hard, but Broward judges are just starting to understand the free ride is not to be had for very long.
We’ve got a chief judge that sets the worst possible example for these other slackers but he’s about to hit the road too. Tooty up next? Can you just imagine?

STUPID, IGNORANT, ARROGANT JARHEAD THAT THOUGHT HE HAD IT MADE IN THE SHADE AFTER TAPPING THE APPOINTMENT PROCESS.
VOTERS SHOWED HIM OTHERWISE. …
PUT A BOWL ON HIS HEAD AND SHOW HIM THE DOOR LIKE VOTERS DID TO PEDRO NO PEDRO. NOW THEY CAN BOTH BE TACO KINGS TOGETHER.

It’s funny when judges who are friends with attorneys have to sometimes rule against them. Especially when the judge calls the attorney into chambers to give them the heads up, and the attorney gets mad and says things like “Fuck you, Jeffrey” or “John, you have no balls.”

I’m no fan of Hilary but I don’t have to be General Patton to know better than to sell out to the Ruskies. Trump and Putin are bad news for these here United States. I’ll be plugging my nose and pulling for another Clinton come November.

Because without the New Times, this blog, the Miami Herald and a couple of other papers
— Satz, BSO, the crime lab, the medical examiners office , the jails would get a free pass.
And Broward would continue to be a cesspool of corruption!
We have the same state attorney (Satz) for 40 years! We have cops killing blacks for 40 years before any is ever indicted. Then the wrong cop is indicted during an election year (The state atty – SATZ had an opponent-and it was close. The Broward sheriffs office crime lab with so much bad evidence, fired, “retired” and missing evidence I’ll need you to Google Broward crime lab; 33 yr old blonds with no (6 yrs as attys?) experience (unless you count being in charge of reviewing whether someone should get into the pre trial intervention program as intervention program) just appointed as judges and the medical examiner, well that was an issue under perper and the new ME. Losing evidence. Destroying evidence.
This place is just waiting for the Feds, national news to investigate.
The local lily white Sun Sentinel will not. It’s asleep at the wheel. It’s writers should be ashamed to be seen in the courthouse at this point.

What do you really expect from a county that is a backward as they come, where a former Sheriff Ken Jenny was sent to jail on corruption charges, Broward judges come to work drunk or drugged up, Judges Rosenthal, Pollack and Imperato all forced to resign from the bench and it takes forever to get them off the bench like former Judge Ana Gardiner who was caught lying about her relationship with a prosecutor where she sentenced the defendant to death, where judges are caught smoking pot in public parks like former Judge Korda, where daily occurrences stretch the boundaries of credulity and where the JNC has become so highly politicized that the only thing that matters in order to become a judge in Broward are political favors and party affiliations as vastly qualified applicants are overlooked in order to appoint daughters, sons, sons in law and various political hacks to positions of judge

Then as these jokers appear before the Judicial Qualifications Committee, the main emphasis seems to be in the protection and retention of these judges after they’ve screwed up so badly it could take a first year law student to figure out they shouldn’t be sitting on the bench, but the JQC is equally politicized to the point where it’s become utterly ridiculous and the Florida Supream Court has to step in to clean up the mess.

And you wonder why citizens are getting shot in their own back yards by souped up cops on steroids ?

Think again. It’s a dangerous place we live in where newspapers like the Sun Sentinel cares nothing about reporting the truth, but instead is more concerned about towing the official line of crap its dwindling readership digests everyday.

The good old boy system is alive and in full swing in Broward County where judges were so far up people like Rothstein’s ass before the Feds stepped in, and the dirty little not so hidden secrets of judges that knew exactly what was going on was never exposed ! Not as long as they could count on campaign contributions and perks like the little whorehouse across the street from his office.
And you’d expect anything else from these public suckers ? Public Corruption is the name of the game here. You’re confronted with it every day. How can you forget it ?

Is that Satz mother ? The resemblance is remarkable. Time to retire Lottie. Williams almost pulled it off. It would have been tough for Lit’l Howie to be upstaged by someone who would have really made a difference in this one horse town and not be just full of hot air and one liners.

If Kuntz doesn’t get it then Kuntz will go away. Then everyone will cry Oh, they made a mistake and they’re sorry and they need a second chance, give Kuntz anything to keep Kuntz happy. Because everyone takes Kuntz for granted and doesn’t realize how much they need Kuntz and how hard Kuntz works around here until Kuntz leaves. Oh how everyone will moan and whine to anyone who will listen if Kuntz goes away so better give it to Kuntz now because Kuntz always know what’s best for everyone.

Colleagues paid tribute Friday to longtime Broward Clerk of Courts employee Lisa L. Foreman, who was found dead with her family in Lauderhill.

Judges, public and private attorneys, public defenders and courthouse staff expressed condolences.

Foreman, 50, was found dead at home Sept. 5, along with her spouse, Dwight Brown, 42, and his son, Denzel Brown, 21. Police responded to the house Monday after a 911 call for a welfare check. Neighbors reported hearing gunfire, but police released no information about the causes of death. Lauderhill police Lt. Gregory Solowsky said the investigation was ongoing.

Foreman worked in the clerk’s office for 28 years beginning in 1988 when she was a counter clerk in the north satellite courthouse. In 1994, she transferred to the traffic and misdemeanor division at the downtown Fort Lauderdale courthouse and worked with former Broward County Court Judge Gary Cowart until his retirement in 2014. She was later in-house clerk to Judge Christopher Pole.

Foreman rose to the rank of team leader responsible for training all new trial specialists in the traffic and misdemeanor division.

“Lisa gained the respect of all that knew her in and outside of the office setting,” her colleagues wrote in a statement. “From the moment Lisa stepped foot in the building, she wore a smile on her face. Her vibrant, enthusiastic personality was evident throughout the entire office.”

Seems BLACK LIVES MATTER are doing something important to all for a change. A protest is scheduled for tomorrow at 5:30pm at the main courthouse to tell Satz that if we’re stuck with him again this time he is also stuck with the citizens of Broward who plan to hold him accountable from now on. We don’t get involved with BLM as our focus is on corruption. However on this we totally support them. Does Satz think we’re stupid? Really? In 40 yrs. only 1 officer charged in a shooting? Broward must have the best police officers in the country. Someone should find

Seems BLACK LIVES MATTER are doing something important to all for a change. A protest is scheduled for tomorrow at 5:30pm at the main courthouse to tell Satz that if we’re stuck with him again this time he is also stuck with the citizens of Broward who plan to hold him accountable from now on. We don’t get involved with BLM as our focus is on corruption. However on this we totally support them. Does Satz think we’re stupid? Really? In 40 yrs. only 1 officer charged in a shooting? Someone should find a way to charge him with obstruction of justice.

Americans have the RIGHT to peacefully protest without fear of having dogs set loose on them. We agree all lives matter. We don’t get involved with BLM, however it sounds to us that you want an excuse to set the dogs loose. Get use to protesters something tells us after falls election there are going to be a lot more around the entire country.

Really? If they did it between 9:00-5:00, would you complain they we disrupting the court system? They deserve the press being sensible about the approach. Satz won re-election. Some are not happy with that but they are respecting the system. We can’t change that for some years, but do not have to like it. I’ll bet you won’t be there but will take their money when any of them get arrested.

5:30 ? You can bet nobody in the SA’s office will be around. They rarely come back after lunch ! Another stupid idea. Are they going to bus them in or will there just be the same few complainers standing around holding signs ?
Is Teresa Williams leading the Black Lives Matter charge ! Lol

At last count we have 350 Black Lives Matter members and supporters attending the protest withmore arriving in buses. We have the power. BLACK LIVES MATTER BLACK VOTES MATTER WE HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE THINGS FOR THE BETTER AND WE WILL OVERCOME>

What are you actually protesting?
You have heard that there will be both a special prosecutor and independent FDLE investigating of the shooting. It seems one of his family members works for the SAO. What more could you want?

If the purpose is to let the SAO know they will be held accountable for all police shootings instead of their usual rubber stamping them ALL as “justified”, then on that we stand behind you. They would have us believe that in the last 40 years every single police shooting was justified? They really believe we are all that stupid.
Want a good laugh? Look a couple of posts above this and watch the video we made for FORMER judge Destry’s campaign during it’s last week.

During a community meeting Monday night to discuss Friday’s deputy-involved shooting in Pompano Beach, Broward Sheriff Scott Israel announced that the agency will no longer investigate shootings involving their own employees.

In the upcoming months, a restructuring of the YAA debt will come before the Broward County Commission. We need to let the Commission and specifically County Administrators, Bertha Henry and Gretchen Cassini know we will not be fooled by their games as outlined in the Red Broward article to shut down the museum.

We read the article.
Looking at it the first thought that comes to mind is that there may be some theft involved. Especially when it comes to the County having to purchase some very large insurance policies? We would really like to see those documents. If you have anything of interest please contact us at our website:https://southfloridacorruption.com/Contact-us/

Are Broward County Commisioners smelling a rat at Young for Art or just stumbling around looking where they’re going to point the finger next ?
Why don’t they just investigate and see how or if it’s been mismanaged. Audit the books and come to a decision. Hiring family members is perhaps troubling. I mean, what kind of qualifications does Zack Spechler have to be the curator of any museum ? Obvious financial problems continue to plague this particular museum. Publish the names of the Board of Directors.
It’s this readers opinion that before you start talking above saving a failing interprise by pumping more money into it, you have to know exactly what you’re talking about. Broward Commisioners should be very concerned with where public money is going, especially under the circumstances I’ve read in this Young at Art article.

Isn’t Mindy Shrago married to former Broward judge Spechler ? Interesting development with this so called museum. What a bad joke. Does she employ her whole family there or just give herself raises every year ?
From what I saw, it’s the worst excuse for a museum I’ve ever seen. It’s a bunch of junk. What a waste of money, but as long as tax payers are footing the bill, it’s off to the races !

Looks like the old Hollywood clan is at it again. Follow the bread crumbs and you’ll find the ants.
The saddest part about it is the county is going to have to foot the bill. Or should I say we the tax payers. Classic example of howvthe cow’s been milked to death right under the noses of the Broward County Commission.

Next time a Deputy can’t get to your house fast enough or there are too many homeless around town, remember the price for priceless in YAA not paying their tab is less vital services for everyone else.

Sculpted Clay donuts are not art. Don’t know how they can even call Young at Art a museum. Sounds like this whole interprise was built on clay that’s about to get washed away pretty soon. Where’s the money ??? Shrago is getting paid more than the salary of the highest paid circuit court judge.
Wasn’t her husband a county judge? I remember reading something about him resigning as judge and then suing to get his job back. He lost his bid in trying to do so.
Now it’s the scuttlebutt that he’s supporting Judge Di Pietro’s campaign to retain her seat in a contested race that will be determined in November. What’s his continued stake in Broward courthouse politics ? It’s understandable what his his stake is in Young at Art. Somethings got to give. Just how much more time and money are Broward Commisioners going to spend on this topic when it’s fairly obvious what the problem has been?

IS THAT WHAT THEYRE CALLING ART NOW DAYS ? ITS REALLY HYSTERICAL IF YOUVE EVER VISITED THIS PLACE. MY FOUR YEAR OLD KNOWS MORE ABOUT ART. DIDNT KNOW ABOUT IT BEING ADMINISTERED BY A MUD SCULPTOR. JUST HOW MUCH IS THIS PLACE IN THE HOLE IN DAVIE. AND HOW MANY FAMILY MEMBERS ARE EMPLOYED THERE BESIDES SHRAGO, HER SON, HER DAUGHTER AND HER MOTHER ? AM I MISSING ANYBODY ELSE ? LOL

Looking for another bailout with public funds so she can continue to give herself another raise ? WTF is going on with these people that they are allowed to do this and what is the Broward Board of County Commissioners doing about it ?

You can bet county commissioners take a dim view of Mindy Shrago pulling down that kind of dosh. Who approves these sums anyway? Who else is on the board of directors for Young in Art ? Are they all family members ?
Wouldn’t you think the county would have intercepted this kind of problem before now when they’ve sunk this kind of money in it ? Who is in charge of overseeing expenditures for Young in Art from a county standpoint ? Was this simply a handshake deal or what ?

Perhaps after this present fiasco when the county takes over instead of the name remaining Youth in Art it could be more aptly named County in the Dark.
What in the world have these people been thinking anyway?

That’s probably what they want. Shut it down and then they can bury what’s probably been a lot of misappropriated funds. What’s with all the family members being employed there? If you go to their website, the link in the footer for Financial Reports, of course doesn’t work.
We are not for profit and as such do not have a lot of funds on hand.
If someone would make the public records request for a list of all employed there, all not just board members, a list of vendors, and the last years expenses,

I’ll bet we’ll find that half the vendors are related and probably being over paid. Probably find a lot more family members being employed, remember the last name may be different but in the new world it’s surprisingly easy with Facebook and other social and business networking, to find who’s related or connected to whom.
Again we think they want it shut down, hoping then maybe no one will bother to go over the books.
Maybe, unlike Opa-Locka, where they just totally raped the city, https://southfloridacorruption.com/Other-Articles-9/

Maybe these guys are a little smarter like “Rats”, and just chewing away little chunks here and there.
AND WE SMELL A RAT!

What happened with the protest, and what exactly are they protesting ? Satz had probably gone home and taken a nap by then. He’s been re-elected. What does he care, although the voters sent a rather stern message with Williams almost overtaking him.

A second protest is scheduled, this one at 8:30pm on a Sunday night in front of the courthouse to protest the selling of bagels in front of the courthouse. We feel it is a slight that they just “assume” jewish lawyers love bagels. disgusting…we are sending buses from Kings Point and Wynmoor village pronto…you will see when those buses arrive we will rain down some justice on that day.

Interesting that it appears no one actually wants their name associated with being on the Committee. It is unfortunate for the County and its taxpayers that Mssrs Di Pietro (YAA Chairman), Jay “Sprinkles” Spechler and Mindy Shrago can’t work this hard for Young at Art to raise money to pay its mortgage.

Richards will trounce Naughty Nina. She and her small band of supporters are already tapped out. Judging (lol) from her last performance, the numbers aren’t in her favor.
These jokers will do anything to remain plugged in and part of the deep pockets of the public dole. I see this chick working for hubby after November.
As far as Sprinks and Co., it speaks for itself. I’m keeping my hand on my wallet with this one. May throw some Richard’s way.

The only problem is her opponent. We like Richards because at least he appears to be honest, however we don’t believe he is competent.
By the way, the sheriff arrested another one of his own.
Vote Scott Israel.
As long as he keeps cleaning up BSO he’s got our vote and endorsement.

ELECT IAN RICHARDS FOR JUDGE. REPLACE POLITICAL HACKS WITH AN EXPERIENCED ARBITER THAT HAS ALREADY PROVEN HIMSELF. BROWARD DESERVES THE BEST JUDGES. IAN RICHARDS DESERVES ANOTHER CHANCE TO BRING INTEGRITY TO THE BENCH. I URGE YOU TO VOTE FOR EXCELLENCE.

BLM fix the cap lock on your computer. Between that and your racist posts, we know it’s you. Richards may be honest, but he’s a dumb shit when it come to the law. I ran circle around him in domestic violence court and I’m not a lawyer. If you didn’t know those are hard charges to get dropped, but got him to do it very easily even before my arraignment in only 2 weeks with 3 hearings. You obviously want him elected because he is black and no other reason. If you want to be that way put your support behind Johnny McCray. He’s black and qualified. How did I do it? Believe it or not, my wife filed a motion to dismiss for me. Yeah , that’s right, the alleged victim filed a motion to dismiss and the idiot started to read it aloud in open court. At that point he had to call her and take testimony, which trashed the SAO case at that point. The victims advocate tried to tell her there was a hearing down the street from the courthouse where the judge, SAO and defense will be there. The place was the victim’s advocates office. When Richards was told that, he said, “I don’t believe the victim’s advocate would do such a thing, and left it at that.

Richards was a great Judge and fair to all that appeared before. He wouldn’t throw a case for Judge Cohen (Lori’s Husband).
He wouldn’t let a cop continue to beat on the woman in his life bust eye socket all all.

Reason Richards lost 400 votes and the Name game. He has a better temperament then his opponent and way more experience. He doesn’t think poor people, blacks are idiots and retards like his opponent. Tell everyone you know or don’t know.
It doesn’t matter.

thee isn’t an attorney in my opinion that appeared before Ian that thought he was competent. He became a judge after a few years of screwing the pooch in the Dade State Atty office. But after a few years of making no money he wants back on the government boobie….no thanks…Id rather take my chances with Di pietro who seems to at least read the law.

Once, after he had been shipped out to South Satellite, I had resolved a minor case with the prosecutor and, as we at podium resolving it, Richards was asking State why they weren’t including more in their offer.

That, plus the examples I’ve read about him 364 jaoling people who were tricked by victims into contact, convince me he shouldn’t be a judge.

The choice in this one is as bad as the race for President. The choices are like eating dog poop or cat poop for dinner. But here is the chance to send the crooked JNC a message. So voting Richards again.

No shock, Sprinkles Spechler was a big Rick LeMack supporter Jay and DiPietro’s friend Chip LaMarca was a big Fondo supporter. Also, former Commissioner Sue Gunzberger was the first and most vocal person to call out Shrago for her mismanagement of Young at Art.

More like a basket full of tax payer’s money going to waste with the apparent blessing of a Broward County Commission that’s been looking the other way for ten years. A complete and thorough investigation should be made of Young at Art.

It staggers the imagination why the Board of County Commissioners would continue to support a museum that is not capable of paying its own way with taxpayers money while the CEO Mindy Shrago continues to pay herself an inordinate salary with equally inordinate increases in that salary and employs several immediate members of her family on the payroll.
This practice amounts to walking a crooked mile that should be eliminated immediately and the doors of this establishment closed.

Israel has a lot of questionable hires. In no way should courthouse safety be jeopardized by a lack of funding to hire new personnel while the scammers at Young at Art keep taking care of their family and friends while failing to pay their mortgage to the County

Really? Read our earlier post and help us with a public records request or shut up. You don’t know what you are talking about.
If you want it to be the sheriffs job, then file a formal CRIMINAL COMPLAINT, make sure you have some proof or risk arrest yourself for filing a false police report. Do you know how budgets are appropriated to the sheriffs dept., We guess not. This sheriff is cleaning up his department. If you have info, send it to him, or us. Questionable hires? Who, send us that info. in this county it isn’t hard to find. Provide proof!https://southfloridacorruption.com/blog/anonymous-tips/
People talking shit always post as Anonymous. We understand why defense attorneys do. Great subject, got our attention. Does anyone really want to know? Help us out rather than just complaining. Put just a few bucks where you mouth is.

I agree with you the sheriff is great. I think it is awful that the County Commission would divert $1 away from first responders to keep the doors of Young at Art open. Young. at Art is a PRIVATE MUSEUM, that essentially conned the County into building them a building under a plan that had no basis in reality to repay the debt.

Young at Art is nothing more than a playground for insiders like Nina Di Pietro, David Di Pietro, Jay Sprinkles Spechler, Mindy Spechler (also former Al Lamberti/Rick LeMack supporters) to have fancy parties to toast themselves and keep their kids and/or others close to them employed.

The Sheriff and other advocates for various groups helping the down trodden in our community should join together and speak out at the outrageous proposal by YAA Chairman David Di Pietro to further reduce the payments on the YAA mortgage because their potential fancy donors don’t want to be made to feel as if their donations are being used towards the debt.

OUTRAGIOUS CORRUPTION ON A SCALE UNFATHOMABLE. WHAT IS THE BROWARD COUNTY COMMISSION DOING TO EXPOSE THIS ? PUBLISH NAMES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF YOUTH IN ART AND THE BROWARD COMMISIONERS RESPONSIBLE.

Once it moved to the county built building, YAA had an impressive Board of members of the community. After the Sun Sentinel article,the word was, the Board made many inquiries and questioned Shrago-Spechler’s management. Push came to shove and all or most of the members of the Board at time resigned. David Di Pietro was named Chair and many or all of his cronies were put on the board with the exception of Ms Cassini from the County

So this is why Sprinks is working so hard on Di Pietro’s re-election campaign ? It couldn’t be that one of the original problems that caused a change in the board of directors was the hefty sum Shrago is receiving as a salary when the mortgage couldn’t be paid and the various and equally hefty increases in that salary ? Was that part of the reason there was a change in administration of YAA ?

Nothing! Asking them to do an audit is like the police investigating their own shootings. They will just say, “nothing to see here”. The names of the board of directors is on their website.http://www.youngatartmuseum.org/
While you’re there, try the link for Financial Reports.

Mindy Shrago is a kind and generous woman who does not deserve any of the crap that has been written about her on this stupid blog. Mindy and her mother devoted years of their own time and money to found YAA. The contributions of the Spechler family to this County are too many to count. Worse is the hatred towards David Di Pietro. David is a gentlemen and a man of honor. He fought corruption at Broward Health and was screwed over for it and thereafter vindicated by the Courts. All of which showed Rick Scott to be the asshole he is. All of you on this blog are cowards. All you losers on here put down good people who are trying to make this place better for everyone. Every world class city has a successful children’s museum. Sure the debt isn’t being paid quickly but it will be paid, Zack Spechler, if you took the time to investigate, is well respected in the art world and earned his title as Curator. Do yourselves a favor and research before you comment so you do noT sound so ignorant.

Mindy Shrago is a kind and generous woman,
“Yes, to her own family it appears.

All you losers on here put down good people who are trying to make this place better for everyone
“Again, they’re friends and family it APPEARS”.

All of you on this blog are cowards
“You hide behind a screen name”.

Sure the debt isn’t being paid quickly but it will be paid
“How many MORE years?.”

And finally,
Every world class city has a successful children’s museum
.
Really? Since when is Davie a world class city? Last time I was out that way there was a lot of cow shit laying around. No offence meant to the people of Davie. Some of the people we know from Davie would say, Yep horse shit too and proud of it!

Which brings us to you. The way you through around insults and the name calling shows your mentality.

Sounds like you maybe grew up around the male version of cow shit.

EVERYONE ON THIS BLOG IS A LOSER?
Think!! That also includes you.
Hate to say it but you sound worse than BLM

World class children’s museum ? That really is a laugh. It’s the most pathetic excuse for a museum I’ve ever seen. Obviously you’ve never visited it. Never seen a worst excuse for so called art ! Lol. It should be something that serves other than as a payment plan for friends and especially family members. It seems to have served no other purpose to this point and certainly hasn’t ever served to turn a profit other than to put any proceeds into certain people’s pockets at the expense of the public or so it seems.
And it’s certainly not in the best interest of the citizens of Broward County to keep this junk shop open any longer.

Help us out! Public records request our best GUESS, probably a couple of hundred. If we get that info, we not only audit it, but publish it for ALL to do the same. What really scares them is something like that. Someone get that for us and we will publish it. Everyone interested can do their own audit. Also anyone wanting to help us out is welcome to contact us. No one is an island. We promise to use what ever resources we get for the good of all.

That’s what we’re talking about. How much you want to bet it was sold to them by another family member. Help us out. That’s why we asked someone to get us the public records. We want to check out the vendors and others who they pay! We smell a rat.

Shrago sure seems to have reaped benefits from this losing endeavor. And for years. Top 80 percent pay of museums nationally in a one horse town like Davie? Smells pretty bad and getting worse. Suggest a complete audit of Young at Art to determine just where expenditures have been made and to whom by the Board of County Commissioners to determine the facts. The initial report to the county seems to warrant one.

The discussion hasn’t even begun about her million dollar house on the lake in hollywood, the beachside villa up in Melbourne and the luxury condo in the upper east side of Manhattan. You know for all those YAA related trips to see the NY galleries (WINK)

When did Sprinkles resign as a county court judge over the tiff with Judge Gehl, then unsuccessfully file suit to try to get his job back under Chief Judge Tobin after his buddy Ross was defeated ? Can’t quite remember how long ago that was. But, I mean, did he then have to put the whole family to work or what ? LOL.
It’s like a cartoon prank with this YAA thing. Shrago, her mother, her son, her daughter ?

Trust them to in investigate their own?
Put the public records request in and give us the info. We promise any info we will look into. Do you really trust them to audit themselves?
We are not 501c, however will account for every penny given to us. If you want to support us then buy from Amazon from our website. You can support us and purchase what you want without any extra cost to you.
We are for real, we want to make a difference. Actually we go back to the late 1980’s. Took a break. Have a life to live. getting old, no guilt just with the experience we have, want to make a difference.

After reporting large numbers of attorneys having resigned over the last several months; as many as one third of the office, it now seems even more attorneys have decided to increase the unprecedented numbers leaving the employ of the Public Defender’s office for reasons often quoted as low pay, high caseloads, supervising attorneys carrying no caseloads, poor management and continued low morale within an office where nobody seems to care and the captain of the sinking ship or his lieutenants are nowhere to be found as evidenced by their missing cars from their assigned parking spaces.
Trouble in paradise? You bet. And no improvement in the foreseeable future.

Sounds like the county is suffering from a case of too much Bourbon and poor choices with the continued support of a losing proposition where the only ones that have been making out financially are Shrago and various members of her family.

I’m not impressed with the facility or the way it’s been run from what I’ve read in the findings of the county report. Kicking the can down the road is a typical response from county bureaucrats.

If it had been run like a real business, and I’m still at a loss to understand who bamboozled the county into doing this in the first place, it should have had its doors closed ten years ago.

Giving Youth at Art more time will only be sinking more money into the same pockets of those who have failed at making it a viable business as a so called museum which is a claim I don’t believe it lives up to.

The most intelligent to the point response we’ve heard yet. this whole thing started by some one asking us to look into this and it really blew up.
We will check things out if someone makes the public records request and gives it to us.
Don’t trust them to investigate themselves.
We are not out for money, just help. Went there need to pay $14.00 just to look? Again we are not out for money. Help us out.

Put the whole family on the dole. That way you know where they are and it costs you nothing and you can pretend you’re an art connoisseur in the middle of a cow patch selling mud donuts and cookies to children who wouldn’t know art if it fell out of the sky and hit them in the heads. Apparently neither do you.

That’s what this is trying to be being sold as, manna from heaven by a bunch of podunks. And you can’t pay the rent ? And you want to call it a world class museum ?

I can’t stop laughing at the gullibility of the Broward Commission and frankly the nerve of this Mindy Shrago chick and all the rest of these phoney wannabe art mavens connected to the Sprinks and DiPietro clowns.

Milk it for all its worth under the guise of helping to educate children and get somebody else to pay the rent while you give yourself whopping raises every year. Sounds like a good reorganizational plan.

Sounds like just another hair brained bubble headed idea that was started with the blessings of a Board of Broward County Commissioners that now wish they’d never heard of it.
There’s an easy solution. Close the doors of this idiotic so called business and the County can rent the building out to Griff’s Feed Store.
At least it wil turn a profit and the taxpayers of Broward can get some of their money back. Lol.

As I see it, the County did an audit and gave Shrago one last chance to get her act together. Understandable, they have a lot to lose if this goes south. It was agreed that YAA would pay a reduced mortgage payment over a longer period of time to pay off the debt. Fair, it happens in business.

The issue now is that Shrago and Di Pietro are trying to claim they need even more favorable payment terms because they claim potential donors have seen the bad press regarding the debt and are reluctant to give, as the donors want to give for the sake of art not the debt.

IMHO Shrago should be asked to resign before the County even considers any further fiscal concessions. Shrago had a great concept and ability to manage the museum when it was small and run out of a strip mall. The problem was whe she and her husband, then Judge, Jay Spechler, brokered their political connections with the high times of the real estate bubble to convince the Commission they could raise donations to pay off the debt, what appears now, to be a lie. Worse it appears that Shargo and her family were generously compensated during the recession while YAA wasn’t meeting their obligation to the County.

In short, Shrago and the rest of the Spechler mooches need to go. YAA deserves a chance to flourish under an Executive Director who has the education and training to run a fiscally responsible museum.

Great concept if you consider the kind of crap she’s peddling for art is anything but junk. I’ve seen it and you wouldn’t even want any of it laying around your garage. I’d rather talk about the inordinate amount of money she is sucking from the proceeds of this ” museum” when it can’t even pay the rent and other proceeds going to various family members. I think it’s fairly clear what’s been happening.

The county was sure sold a bill of goods and fell for it hook, line and sinker. She should have stayed in the strip mall or flea market where her chances were better for turning a profit. Although, I’ve seen better art at the flea market.